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| FishTails |
Lanham and Kennedy Secure Buddy Trail Championship
By Chris Lawrence
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| West Virginia Bass Federation Buddy Trail 2001 Champions Len Lanham
(left) and Bill Kennedy. |
Few will argue the difficulty the West Virginia Bass Federation Buddy Trail. Challenges abound over the six-tournament
season. One must cope first of all with a group of deeply committed competitors, many of whom possess a unique
knack for locating fish. A second hurdle is to overcome every type of weather possible, which has a profound impact
on waters that even at their best-fall short of being the greatest fisheries in America. That's why a first place
finish in the trail is extra sweet for 2001 Champions Bill Kennedy and Len Lanham.
"This is the first year we've fished this one." Said Lanham, "Kevin Goff talked me into fishing
it this year, and I'm glad he did. I've fished other trails in West Virginia-but this one is by far the best. Federation
tournaments have excellent competition, and are very fairly run. You never have any doubts about the rules-or them
being enforced with the Federation."
Lanham, of Mineral Wells, is a retired State Trooper who now runs his own home security firm and serves as a certified
polygraph specialist for local law enforcement agencies. Kennedy, also from Mineral Wells, drives a truck for a
living.
While winning the points championship is a sweet ending to a very difficult trail-the real prize is finishing among
the top four teams and gaining a coveted automatic berth into the WVBF State Tournament in October, set this year
on the Monongahela River in Fairmont. The venue sits well with Lanham and Kennedy who are self-proclaimed river
fishermen.
"I guess the turning point for us was at Summersville." Said Lanham, "We did fairly well down there
and I knew because of that we had a chance since we were done with the lakes and heading to the river. Actually
though, we didn't think we'd do very well at Ravenswood and ended up winning that one---and figured we'd do better
at New Martinsville and struggled there."
Lanham and Kennedy managed only three-fish at New Martinsville-but the catch was huge since it outdistanced other
contenders for the title.
"We wanted to win first place if we could," noted Fritz Rotgeb of Putnam County. "But we really
wanted to finish in the top four."
A zero at New Martinsville cost Rotgeb and partner Randy Peters the championship-but left them with enough points
to finish second and make it to Fairmont.
"We practiced twice up here and caught three-fish in three-days. We knew it would be tough, but we did the
best we could and knew if it was going to happen-it would happen."
Joining them on the Mon in October will be Monte Krepps and Scott Phillips. The Elkins duo is quick to admit guys
from the mountains can't fish the Ohio River.
"No doubt about that!" laughed Krepps
The pair's strongest showing came in the initial tournament of the season on a cold, wet, snowy afternoon at Sutton
Lake. They amazed everyone with a bag of fish on a day most could barely stay for the weigh-in.
"We don't know this place real well." Admitted Krepps, "We actually thought we was out after Ravenswood
and here."
The two caught only one fish at New Martinsville, but it kept them in the hunt. Strong finishes not only at Sutton,
but at Burnsville and Summersville-and holding their own on the Mon helped the two who have the utmost respect
for the competition.
"There's a lot of good fishermen here." Said Phillips, "If you fish all six of these and finish
in the top four-you've done something. There's no doubt about it."
The final spot proved to be a nailbiter-but when the computer ceased it's ciphering-longtime WVBF partners Bob
Burgess and Russ Smarr found they had a free ride into Prickett's Fort. Ironically, for the seasoned war-horses-it
was new ground.
"We've fished these things as long as they've been around." Said Burgess, "But we've never finished
in the top four."
"We'd always be one or two places out." Added Smarr, "Always a bridesmaid."
A lackluster performance at New Martinsville kept things tense for the two-who have fished together every year
the Buddy Trail has been in existence, with the exception of last year, when Russ took a year off to fish the BassMasters
Classic. Although they couldn't boat a fish during the final tournament-the strength of a yearlong performance
and a no-show by Carl Cogar and Joe Romans gave Smarr and Burgess the fourth spot.
"It was tough watching all those guys bring in one fish." Noted Smarr about the New Martinsville Tournament.
"Every fish that's weighed-in sets you back one more point when you blank."
In review, those who made the yearlong commitment experienced the ups and downs that are tournament fishing. Sutton
Lake started the season with wind, rain, sleet, and eventually snow. Burnsville proved to be the best conditions
of the year and among the biggest catches timed directly with the spawn. The trip to Summersville coincided with
a cold front and bass on a skittish post-spawn pattern.
River fishermen licked their chops, and lake anglers cringed as the trail headed to Ravenswood-but everybody's
worst fears were realized when flooding rains poured four solid days prior to the tournament leaving the water
the consistency of chocolate milk. While conditions appeared better-the Mon River tournament fell well short of
most expectations with another changing weather pattern. New Martinsville spoke for itself with difficult conditions
and a low catch rate.
Perhaps it was timing, perhaps it was weather, perhaps it was any number of factors, but the 2001 Buddy Trail proved
to be challenging-and all agree those who notched the top four spots earned every point. |
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